Open-ended carton



Dec. 13, 1960 s. MANSFIELD OPEN-ENDED CARTON Filed NOV. 6, 1957 SANFORDMANSFIELD INVENTOR ATTORNEYS BY oxmmlm+ 1mg,

Unite States Patent cc OPEN-ENDED CARTON Sanford Mansfield, Charlotte,N.C., assignor to Old Dominion Box Company, Inc., Charlotte, N.C., acorporation of North Carolina Filed Nov. 6, 1957, Ser. No. 694,888

1 Claim. (Cl. 229-40) This invention relates generally to an open-endedcarton for retaining a plurality of rectangular articles and moreparticularly to a carton for retaining rectangular articles such asfrozen food packages, cake and pie mixes, Jello boxes and the like.

As is well known, multiple packaging increases sales and different typesof multiple packaging cartons have been developed for retaining bottledand canned goods to make the handling of these articles more convenientfor the consumer. While the multiple packaging of cans and bottles hasbeen successful, the multiple packaging of rectangular articles, such asfrozen food packages, has not been successful and this is primarily dueto the fact that a suitable container has not been available.Heretofore, multiple packaging cartons for rectangular articles havebeen too expensive to produce because they have had to completelyenclose the rectangular articles in order to prevent their movementrelative to each other and to retain the articles in the carton. Also,this type of multiple packaging carton is objectionable because itobscures the articles and any printed matter thereon.

With these objections in mind, it is the primary object of thisinvention to provide an open-ended wrap-around carton adapted toencircle and bind together a plurality of rectangular articles in anovel manner so that at least the end portions of the articles may beseen when the carton is observed by a potential consumer.

It is another object of this invention to provide a multiple packagingcarton for rectangular articles having novel locking means engageablewith the articles in a novel manner to prevent longitudinal movement ofthe articles in the carton and longitudinal or sliding movement of thearticles relative to each other.

It is another object of this invention to provide a multiple packagingcarton for retaining a plurality of rectangular articles which may beeasily formed from a rectangular blank so that the cartons may beproduced economically without any waste material and so that the cartonsmay be economically printed.

It is a more specific object of this invention to provide a multiplepackaging carton for retaining a plurality of rectangular articles whichmay be economically formed from a scored rectangular carton blank to befolded and secured at opposite ends and form a tubular carton havingtop, bottom and side walls with article locking or wedging membersspaced along the side walls. The wedge members are spaced along the sidewalls according to the thickness of the articles and project inwardlyfrom the side walls and between proximal surfaces of the articles. It isonly necessary that the wedge members extend inwardly between thearticles a short distance to be wedged between and resiliently engagethe proximal surfaces of the articles and prevent relative movementbetween the articles and the carton.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objectswill appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the blankfromwhich the carrier is formed, showing the relative position of thescore lines along which the blank is folded when the carton is erected;

Figure 2 is an isometric view of the carton in partial-v ly erectedcondition;

Figure 3 is an isometric view of the carton and show-: ing it retaininga plurality of stacked rectangular articles.

and is provided with top walls 11 and 12 at opposite The blank alsoincludes a bottom wall 13 and side walls broadly indicated at 14 and 15.The side walls ends.

14 and 15 are hingedly connected to the top walls 11 and 12 along scoreor fold lines 16 and 17, respectively and the side walls 14 and 15 arehingedly connected to opposite sides of the bottom wall 13 by scorelines 20 and 21, respectively.

The side wall 14 includes side panels 22, 23 and 24 and side-by-sidepairs of wedge panels 26, 27 and 28, 29 which are hingedlyinterconnected to each other and to the side panels 22, 23 and 24 bysuitable score lines 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35. The side wall 15includes side panels 40, 41 and 42 and side-by-side pairs of wedgepanels 43, 44 and 45, 46 which are hingedly interconnected to each otherand to the side panels 40, 41 and 42 by suitable score lines 50, 51, 52,53, 54 and 55.

The carton may be erected by folding the sides upward-' ly along thescore lines 20 and 21, adjacent each side of the bottom wall 13 (Figure2) and then folding the wedge panels of the side walls 14 and 15 so thatcorresponding wedge panels of each pair are positioned in juxtapositionrelative to each other. The wedge panels may then be suitably securedtogether by any suitable means such as an adhesive material, indicatedat 60 in Figure 2, which may be applied thereto either prior to orduring folding. Of course, the wedge panels may be secured together byother means, such as staples or the like. After corresponding pairs ofwedge panels have been secured together, they form wedge membersindicated at 62 and 63 on the side wall 14 and wedge members indicatedat 64 and 65 (Figures 3 and 4) on the side wall 15.

Rectangular articles, such as frozen food boxes indicated at 70, 71 and72 in Figure 3, may be placed in the carton in any suitable manner, suchas by hand or by automatic machinery. Also, the articles may bepositioned between the wedge members 63, 64 and 62, 65 during thefolding of the wedge panels or after the wedge members are formed. Thetop walls 11 and 12 may then be overlapped and suitably secured together(Figure 4) by any suitable means such as an adhesive material indicatedat 70 and 71 applied to the proximal ends of the corresponding toppanels 11 and 12 (Figure 2).

Since the inside height of the side walls 14 and 15 (Figure 4) is equalto the stacked height of the articles 70, 71 and 72, the top and bottomwalls limit the distance between the upper surface of the article 72 andthe lower surface of the article 70 and the wedge members 63, 64 and 62,65 are wedged between the articles to tightly hold the articles againstmovement in the carton. It will be noted that, due to the folding actionof the material along the score lines 31, 34, 51 and 54, enlarged ribsare formed along the inner edges of the respective wedge members 62, 63,64 and 65.

These ribs act to further wedge apart the proximal Patented Dec. 13,1960 surfaces of the articles and help prevent relative longitudinalmovement of the packages 79 through 72 in the carton 10. The ribs on theinner ends of the wedge members 62 through 65 are formed as a matter'ofcourse when the wedge panels are folded to juxtaposition since it isvirtually impossible to fold a paperboard material upon itself withoutthe formation of a thickened rib along the fold.

Although each wedge member is shown extending inwardly substantiallyone-eighth the distance from one side wall to the other, the distancethe inner edges of the wedge members 62 through 65 extend inwardlybetween the proximal surfaces of the articles is not critical as long asthe inner edges extend inwardly further than any radius at the cornersof the packages held thereby and therefore, rectangular blanks which arethe same size may be used to package articles of difierent sizes. Thus,if it is desired to package rectangular articles which are slightlythickerthan those illustrated at 70, 71 and 72, the position of thescore lines on each of the side walls 14 and 15 could be shifted so thatthe wedge panels are not as wide as those shown to thus provide greaterwidth in the side panels so that they will accommodate articles ofgreater thickness without changing the overall length of the blank.

Although a carton has been shown which is particularly adapted toreceive and retain three rectangular articles, it is to be understoodthat the number of rectangular articles retained thereby could bedecreased or increased by merely adding or removing a correspondingnumber of side panels and wedge panels on each of the. side walls 14 and15. Also, although .the open ends of the carton shown extend relativelyclose to the ends of the rectangular articles, it is to be understoodthat the width of the blank could be reduced so that the carton wouldcover only a small portion of the rectangular articles.

Although the terms top wall and bottom wall have been used throughoutthe specification to designate certain portions of the carton blank andcarton formed therefrom, these terms were selected to correspond to themanner in which the carton is erected and shown 4 in the drawing. It isapparent that the carton and articles contained therein are shown beingassembled in inverted position from their normal display position.

It is thus seen that an open-ended wrap-around carton has been providedto encircle a plurality of stacked rectangular articles with wedgemembers carried by the carton and extending between proximal surfaces ofthe articles to resiliently retain the articles in fixed position insideof the carton.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferredembodiment of the invention and, although specific terms are employed,they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not forpurposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in theclaim.

I claim:

A package comprising a plurality of stacked compressible rectangulararticles such as boxes of frozen food and an open-ended cartonsurrounding and confining the stacked articles therein, said cartoncomprising a scored uninterrupted sheet of paper board defininginterconnected top, bottom and side walls, each of said walls comprisinga plurality of side wall portions corresponding in number to theretained articles, .a plurality of wedge members extending inwardly fromsaid side walls between adjacent rectangular articles, each of saidwedge members comprising a pair of wedge panels hingedly connectedtogether along their inner edges and to corresponding side wall portionsalong their outer edges, means for securing said wedge panels inoverlapping relation to maintain the side wall portions of the carton inabutting relation, the distance between adjacent wedge members beingless than the normal thickness of the article positioned therebetween todeform and compress the engaged portions of the article therebetween andengaged portions of adjacent articles to thus securely retain thearticles in the carton.

Overland Sept. 5, 1950 Moore Nov. 18, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICECERTIFICATION OF CORRECTION Patent No; 2,964,229 December 13, 1960 vSanford Mansfield It is hereby certified that error eppeara in theabove, numbered pet! ent requiring correction and that the said LettersPatent should read ea corrected below.

Column 4, line 22, after "said" insert side Signed and sealed this 9thday of May 1961.

(SEAL) Arrest:-

ERNEST W: SWIDER DAVID L: LADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

